Packaging machine



May 15, 1956 c. B. HARKER PACKAGING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 16, 1952 May 15, 1956 c. B. HARKER PACKAGING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 16, 1952 United grates l atent PACKAGHNC- lviACHlNE Charles B. Harker, Rockford, EL, assignor to Bartelt Engineering Company, Rockford, 111., a corporation of ois Application June 16, 1952, Serial No. 293,773

8 Claims. (Cl. 226-59) This invention relates to'a packagingrnachineofthe type inwhich the bags to be filled are advanced to suecessive stations at which various packaging operations are performed. More particularly, the invention relates to a-machine for filling a bag which comprises front and backvwafls joined together along their side-edges to points short of the open upper end of the bag was to leave the upperends of the Walls free. In such machines, an elongated: straight splitter bar is disposed above the bags, andrthe bags are advanced along the bar which is straddled by the upper free ends of the bag walls and holds'the mouth of the bag open preparatory to the performance of apackaging operation at one of the stations.

One object of, the invention is to provide a packaging machine of the above characterwith a new and improved splitter bar which serves to vary the volume of the bags in preparation for a succeeding operation at one of the stations of the machine.

A more detailed object is to provide the splitter bar with an orifice communicating with the interior of the bag and forming a passage for the fiow of gas which varies the spacing between the bag walls and hence the volume ofrthe'bag.

Another, object is to direct a streamof air through the orifice and into the bag to spreadthe wallsof the bag so that thebagis open and ready to be filled at the next station Other objects and advantages of the invention will become. apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,.in which- Figure l isra side elevation with parts broken away of a packaging machine with a splitter bar constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 isaperspective view of the splitter bar.

Fig. 3. is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is afragmentary sectional view taken along the line 44 in Fig. 3.

For the purposes of illustration, the invention-is shown embodiedin a machine for packaging material in a bag which'comprises'two flexible walls 11 (Fig. 2) of sheet material closed at the bottom as by a fold 12 and sealed along the side edges as indicated at 13. The seals 13'are formed by joining the'adjacent margins of the walls 11 together. and extend from the bottom of the bag to a point adjacent but short of the open upper end'of the bag so that'the upper ends of, the walls are free and unsealed and vform flaps 14. Bags of this type may be made conven ientlyon an automatic machine such as the one disclosed in an application of Harold L. Bartelt, Serial No. 98,660,

filed, June 13, 1949, now Patent No. 2,649,674, dated August 25, 1953, to which reference may be had for the details of construction.

In general, the bag making apparatus converts, a strip 15-(1Fig. l) of flexible material into a series'of bags10 as the strip is advanced step by step in an endwise direction. The strip, which is composed of or coated with a thermosensitive or heat scalable material, is led olffrom a supply roll (not shown), folded along its'longitudinal center line as it passes a folder 16, is heat sealed crosswiseby heat and pressure applied by shoes 17 which form the sideseals 13, and the seals are cut by a knife 18 at a subsequent station to separate the bags. 10.

The folded strip 15 is pulled forwardly through the folder 16 and between the shoes 17 and is pushed on past the cutter 18 by vertical rollers 19 hearing frictionally against opposite. sides of the folded. strip. The rollers are drivenby a motor 20 through an indexing mechanism 21 which turns the rollers intermittently to advancethe strip 15 in successive steps through distances corresponding to the widthof the bags 10. During a dwell of. the-StTiP,.Ihe shoest17- and the cutter 18 are'actuated by cams22 and 23 on a shaft 24 journaled on the frame 25 of the-machine in spaced bearings 26 and driven continuously by the motor 20.

Beforethe cutter 18 is actuated, the-bag 10 at theend ofthestrip 15 is disposed at a station 27 where it is picked up by a conveyor 28 and, after being separated from-the strip by the cutter, is advanced step by step first to a filling station 29 where a'quantity of material. to. be packaged is depositedinthe bag andthen to a closing station 30 where the upper ends 14 of the walls 11 are sealed together to close the. bag. Herein, the conveyor 28 is in the form' of an endless chain31 carrying a plurality of clamps 32 spaced at equal intervalsalong-the chain and opening rearwardly to grip the leading edges of: the bags. The chain is, passed around atsprocket-wheell33. which is-drivenby the shaft 24 through a Geneva mechanism 34 to advance the chainintermittently through successive stepssomewhat longer. than therwidth of thebags.

To pickup the bagontheend of the strip 15, the operation, of theGeneva mechanism is timed-to alternate the advance of the conveyor 28 with thetadvance of the strip sothata clamp 32 is dwelling at the station' 27 and isready, to grip-the leading end of. the leading bagbefore the latter is-deliveredto thepick-up station. The clamp at the station27 is opened by an upright lever arm; 35 which is fulcrumed intermediate its: ends at. 36.0n the frame and is turnedto openthe-clamp by a. cam 36 011 the camshaft 24. When the clamp is open, the feed rollers-19 push the endbag intothe pick-upstation-with the-forward seal 13 disposed between the jaws of the clamp. Before the cam 23 operates the cutter 18, the cam 36-permits-the lever 35 to-swing back closing the clamp-so thatbag is held on the conveyor 28 before being severed fromthe strip 15. As shown in Fig. l, the clamps gripgthe leading edges of the bags below the upper. ends of the. seals 13 so that the flaps 14 are free to. spread apart.

From the pick-up stati0n'27, eachbagl'fl is -advanced by the conveyor 28'to the filling station. 29 where; a dis pensing device 37 deposits apredetermined'quantity of material to be packaged in the. bag. Preferably, the dispensing device is operated in timed relation with the movement of the vconveyor by a cam 38 carried by the shaft 24 and closing a switch 39 to operatetthe dispenser during a dwell of the bags.

To hold the mouths of the bags 10 open preparatory to filling, the flaps. 14 on the upper ends of the bag Walls 11 straddle an elongated narrow splitter bar 40 as they are advanced to the filling station 29.. An enlargement 41 (Fig. 2) on the upper edge of the bar is bolted to a bracket 42 which projects outwardly perpen dicular to they path of the bags and a vertical leg 43 of the bracket is bolted to a horizontal bar 44 (Fig; 1) fast on the frame 25 of. the machine. The bolts-'45 securing the bracket 42 to the stationary bar 43- pass through vertical slots 46 in'the leg'43: sothat thezsplitter bar may be raised or lowered to place its lower edge 47 immediately above the upper ends of the side seals 13 when a difierent sized bag is being packaged.

The splitter bar 49 extends over the pick-up station 27 and along the path of the bags to a point short of the spout 48 ofthe' dispensing device 37. Preferably, the lower edges 49 of the sides 50 of the bar are beveled to give the bottom of the bar a V-shaped cross section which is straddled by the flaps 14. The end 51 of the splitter bar first engaged by the flaps may also be sharpened to a narrow edge 52 as shown in Fig. 2 to insure that the flaps spread apart and pass on opposite sides of the bar.

It is desirable to employ a second splitter bar 40 alined .with the first and extending between the folder 16 and the knife 18 to hold the upper edges of the folded strip apart as the bags are being made. With this construction, the flaps 14 are spread when the bag is delivered to the pick-up station 27 and are held apart as the bag is advanced to the filling station so that the mouth of the bag will be open when the bag is dwelling under the filling spout 48.

After being filled, each bag 10 is advanced to the closing station 30 where a pair of horizontal heated shoes 53 press and seal the flaps 14 together to close the bag across the top. The shoes 53 are mounted on the upper ends of vertical levers 54 which are fulcrumed on the frame at 55 intermediate their ends and are swung together to form the closing seal 56 when, during a dwell of the bags, the rises on cams 57 on the camshaft 24 engage follower rollers 58 carried on the lower ends of the levers. The bags then are advanced to the end of the machine where the clamps 32 are opened to release the bags which fall into a chute 59.

In accordance with the present invention, the splitter bar 40 is formed with an orifice 60 (Fig. 3) which, when the splitter is engaging the flaps 14 of a bag, communicates with the interior of the bag and provides a passage for the flow of a gas into or out of the bag to vary the spacing of the bag walls 11 and hence the volume of the bag in preparation for a succeeding packaging'operation. Preferably, the orifice 60 opens through the bottom edge 47 of the splitter bar and faces downwardly toward the bottom of a bag dwelling under it. In the present instance, the orifice is disposed at a station 61 in advance of the filling station 29 and air under pressure is blown through it and into the bag to separate the bag walls 11 so that the bag will be fully opened and ready to be filled.

While the orifice 60 may be formed by a plurality of small holes spaced along the splitter bat 40, it is preferred to employ a narrow slit substantially equal in length to the width of a bag 10 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. For this purpose, one side of the splitter bar is hollowed out to form in the vertical plane of the bag a generally triangular recess 62 extending from the bottom edge 47 of the bar up into the enlargement 41. Around the recess along the two legs of the triangle, the bar is cut away leaving narrow shoulders 63 on which is seated a triangular plate 64 riveted to the splitter bar along the shoulders and closing the recess 62 to form the orifice 60. The outer surface of the triangular plate is flush with the side 50 of the splitter bar to provide a smooth guide surface for the flap 14.

To connect the orifice 60 with a suitable source of air under pressure, a nipple 65 is welded or otherwise fastened in place in a hole 65 in the bar at the apex of the recess 62 and'receives a threaded connector 66 on one end of 'an air pipe 67. The other end of the pipe is connected to a valve 68 (Fig. 1) to which compressed -air is supplied from a suitable source (not shown) through a supply hose 69 and a pressure regulator 70.

The valve 68 is mounted on the frame 25 of the machine near the camshaft 24 and its actuator 71 is moved to 1 open the valve during a dwell of the conveyor 28 by a cam 72 on the camshaft. Preferably, the cam 72 holds the 4 valve open during a major portion of the dwelling period to supply a relatively large volume of air and the pressure regulator 76 is adjusted to supply the air at a comparatively low pressure such, for example, as 20 For certain applications it is desirable to provide means for holding the fiaps 14 against the beveled edges 49 of the splitter bar 40 as the air is admitted to the bag 10 and thereby obtain wide separation of the bag walls or shaping of the bag to a desired contour. Herein this means comprises a pair of rectangular plates 73 bolted flat against opposite sides of the splitter bar and projecting down beyond the lower edge 47 of the bar. The plates 73 extend beyond both ends of the orifice 60 so that the flaps of a bag dwelling at the opening station 61 are held between the beveled edges 49 of the splitter bar and the plates as shown in Fig. 3. If desired, the ends 74 of the plates near the pick-up station 27 may be flared outwardly away from the bar to guide the flaps into the spaces between the plates and the beveled edges 49 of the bar.

In operation, the feed rollers 19 deliver a bag 10 on the end of the strip 15 to the pick-up station 27 where a clamp 32 is dwelling and held open by the cam operated lever 35. As the bag enters this station, the flaps 14 are spread apart by the sharpened end 51 of the splitter bar 40 and straddle the beveled edges 49 of the bar. When the leading edge of the bag is disposed between the jaws of the clamp, the cam 36 permits the lever 35 to swing back closing the clamp and then the cam 23 actuates the cutter 18 to sever the bag from the strip 15. Next, the conveyor 28 is indexed carrying the bag to the opening station 61 below the orifice 60 in the splitter bar.

with the supply of compressed air. The air flows through the orifice toward the bottom of the bag and, since the flaps 14 are held against the splitter bar by the plates 73, the air is held in the bag and, therefore, is efiective to separate the bag walls 11. In the next advance of the conveyor 28, the bag is moved to the filling station 29, and, while it is dwelling under the spout 48, the cam 38 closes the switch 39 to start the dispensing device 37 in operation. Since the walls 11 of the bag are separated, the volume of the bag is greater than the volume of the material to be packaged in the bag eliminating the possibility of the dispensed material overflowing during the filling operation. The material drops from the spout to the bottom of the bag which thus fills from the bottom up. After being filled, the bag is advanced step by step to the station 30 where the shoes 53 seal the mouth of the bag closed and then, at the end of the machine, the clamp 32 is opened to drop the bag into the chute 59.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a packaging machine having stations disposed successively along a predetermined path, the combination of, means for gripping and supporting a row of bags open end up in edge to edge but laterally spaced relation, each of said bags comprising front and back walls joined at their edges to points short of the top of the bag whereby to leave the upper ends of the walls free, mechanism for advancing said gripping means horizontally step by step to move said bags. edgewise along said path and present said bags one by one to said stations, a dispensing device disposed at one of said stations and operable during a dwell of the bags to discharge a quantity of material into the bag at said one station, an elongated straight splitter bar longer than the width of a bag stationarily supported above said gripping means and disposed along said path in advance of said one station and between said wall ends of at least one of said bags over the full width and length of said ends whereby to hold the ends separated, said bar having an orifice opening downwardly at the lower edge ofthe bar and along a substantialpart of the width of the bag dwelling under the orifice, and mechanismoperated in timed relation to the advance of said gripping means and operable to initiate a flow of gas through said orifice and into the bag engaging said bar to spread the walls of the bag preparatory to filling at said one station.

2. In a packaging machine, the combination of, means for gripping and supporting a row of bags open end up in edge to edge but laterally spaced relation for movement along a predetermined path, each of said bags comprising front and back walls joined at their side edges to points short of the top of the bag whereby to leave the upper ends of the walls free, an elongated straight splitter bar longer than the width of a bag fixedly supported above said gripping means and along said path and disposed between said wall ends of at least one of said bags over the full width and length of said wall ends whereby to hold the latter separated, said bar having an orifice opening downwardly at the lower edge of the bar and along a substantial part of the bag width, mechanism for advancing said gripping means horizontally step by step to move said bags along said path and present the same one by one to a position in which said bar orifice is disposed between the side edges of a bag, means for supplying gas under pressure into said bar and through said orifice, and mechanism for initiating the flow of gas to the orifice in timed relation to the movement of said bags.

3. In a packaging machine, the combination of, means for supporting a generally fiat bag for movement edgewise along a predetermined path, said bag having an open end and opposing flaps on the walls at said open end with the flaps extending throughout the width of the bag, a stationary elongated splitter bar longer than the width of the bag disposed along said path and having portions of its sides beveled to a narrow edge, means defining an orifice in said bar and opening through said edge, mechanism for gripping said bag and advancing the same along said bar with the flaps straddling said beveled portions to present the bag to a position in which said orifice opens into the bag, a gas supply line communicating at one end with said orifice and adapted to be connected at the opposite end to a supply of gas under pressure, a valve disposed in said line, and mechanism operated in timed relation with the advance of said bag for opening said valve to initiate a flow of gas through said orifice and into the bag when the bag is disposed at said position.

4. In a packaging machine, the combination of, means for gripping and supporting a row of bags open end up in edge to edge but laterally spaced relation, each of said bags comprising front and back walls joined at their side edges to points short of the top of the bag whereby to leave the upper ends of the walls free, an elongated straight splitter bar longer than the width of a bag stationarily supported above said gripping means and disposed between said wall ends of at least one of said bags over the full width and length of said wall ends whereby to hold the latter separated, said bar having an orifice opening downwardly at the lower edge of the bar and along a substantial part of the bag width, mechanism for advancing said gripping means horizontally step by step to present said bags one by one to a position in which said bar orifice is disposed between the side edges of a bag, power actuated means externally of said bar communicating with said orifice and operable when activated to, initiate a flow of gas through said orifice and thereby change the volume of the bag then communicating therewith, and mechanism for activating said flow producing means in timed relation to the movement of said bags.

5. In a packaging machine, the combination of, means for gripping and supporting a row of bags open end up in edge to edge but laterally spaced relation, each of said bags comprising front and back walls joined at their side edges to points short of the top of the bag whereby to leave the upper. ends of the walls. free; an elongated straight splitter bar longer than the width: of a bagstationarily supported above said gripping means and'disposed' between said wall ends of at least one of said bags over the full width and length of said ends whereby to holdxthe latter separated,- saidbar having an orifice opening downwardly at the lower edge of the bar and along a substantial part of the bag width, mechanism for advancing saidgripping means horizontally step by step to present said bags one by one to a position in which said bar orifice is disposed between the side edges of a bag, and mechanism operated in timed relation to the advance of said gripping means and operable to initiate the flow of gas through said orifice whereby to vary the spacing of the walls of the bag dwelling in engagement with said bar.

6. In a packaging machine, the combination of, means for supporting a generally flat bag having an open end and opposing flaps on the walls at said open end, said fiaps extending throughout the width of the bag, a stationary elongated splitter bar longer than the width of the bag and having portions of its sides beveled to a narrow edge, means defining an orifice in said bar and opening through said edge, two fiat plates mounted on said bar alongside said orifice and lying against the sides of the bar, said plates extending beyond said edge and spaced from the beveled portions of the splitter bar sides, mechanism for advancing said bag along said bar with the flaps straddling said beveled portions and with each flap disposed between the adjacent side portions of said bar and the extended portion of the corresponding plate to present the bag to a position in which said orifice opens into the bag, means for guiding said fiaps in between said beveled portions and said plates, and mechanism operated in timed relation with the advance of said bag for initiating a How of gas under pressure through said orifice and into the bag when the bag is disposed at said position.

7. In a packaging machine, the combination of, means for supporting a generally fiat bag having an open end and opposing flaps on the walls at said open end, said flaps extending throughout the width of the bag, a stationary elongated splitter bar longer than the width of the bag and having portions of its sides beveled to a narrow edge, means defining an orifice in said bar and opening through said edge, two flat plates mounted on said bar alongside said orifice and lying against the sides of the bar, said plates extending beyond said edge and spaced from the beveled portions of the splitter bar sides, mechanism for advancing said bag along said bar with the fiaps straddling said beveled portions to present the bag and with each flap disposed between the adjacent side portion of said bar and the extended portion of the corresponding plate to a position in which said orifice opens into the bag, and mechanism operated in timed relation with the advance of said bag for initiating a flow of gas under pressure through said orifice and into the bag when the bag is disposed at said position.

8. In a packaging machine, the combination of, means for gripping and supporting a row of bags open end up in edge to edge but laterally spaced relation, each of said bags comprising front and back walls joined at their sideedges to points short of the top of the bag whereby to leave the upper ends of the walls free, an elongated straight splitter bar longer than the width of a bag stationarily supported above said gripping means and disposed between said wall ends of at least one of said bags over the full width and length of said ends whereby to hold the same separated, said bar having an orifice opening downwardly at the lower edge of the bar and along a substantial part of the bag width, mechanism for advancing said gripping means horizontally step by step to present said bags one by one to a position in which said bar orifice is disposed between the side edges of a bag, mechanism operated in timed relation to the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,446,256 Lane et a1 Feb. 20, 1923 8 Gangler Nov. 28, 1933 Maxfield Feb. 14, 1939 Waters Apr. 28, 1942 Barnett Nov. 14, 1944 Barnett Dec. 4, 1945 

